Sebastian Janikowski’s replacement uses a flip phone, volunteers at soup kitchens and more

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NASHVILLE, TN- SEPTEMBER 10: Kicker Giorgio Tavecchio #2 of the Oakland Raiders reacts after making a field goal against the Tennessee Titans in the second half at Nissan Stadium on September 10, 2017 In Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) )

NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 10: New kicker Giorgio Tavecchio #2 of the Oakland Raiders warms up before a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

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Oakland Raiders kicker Giorgio Tavecchio (2) celebrates with quarterback Derek Carr (4) after Tavecchio kicked a a 43-yard field goal against the Tennessee Titans in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. The field goal was the fourth of the game for Tavecchio. The Raiders won 26-16. (AP Photo/James Kenney)

Oakland Raiders kicker Giorgio Tavecchio (2) kicks a 43-yard field goal as Marquette King (7) holds against the Tennessee Titans in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/James Kenney)

Oakland Raiders kicker Giorgio Tavecchio (2) kicks a 52-yard field goal against the Tennessee Titans as Marquette King (7) holds in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

Oakland Raiders kicker Giorgio Tavecchio (2) celebrates after kicking a 52-yard field goal against the Tennessee Titans in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

Oakland Raiders kicker Giorgio Tavecchio (2) is congratulated by head coach Jack Del Rio, left, after Tavecchio kicked a a 43-yard field goal against the Tennessee Titans in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. The field goal was the fourth of the game for Tavecchio. The Raiders won 26-16. (AP Photo/James Kenney)

NASHVILLE, TN- SEPTEMBER 10: Kicker Giorgio Tavecchio #2 of the Oakland Raiders reacts after making a field goal against the Tennessee Titans in the second half at Nissan Stadium on September 10, 2017 In Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) )

NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 10: Kicker Giorgio Tavecchio #2 of the Oakland Raiders kicks a field goal with 1:09 left in the fourth quarter to sure up the 26-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

NASHVILLE, TN- SEPTEMBER 10: Kicker Giorgio Tavecchio #2 of the Oakland Raiders looks on in the second half at Nissan Stadium on September 10, 2017 In Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) )

ALAMEDA — Shortly after his record-setting NFL debut, Giorgio Tavecchio received a text on his flip phone asking if he planned to party upon returning to California on Sunday night.

Tavecchio, 27, explained to his two college roommates in the group chat that if the Raiders’ team plane arrived in time, in accordance with his college tradition of going to church on weekend nights, he would attend 10 p.m. Mass instead.

“One hundred percent, he will go to Mass,” Jed Barnett, one of the friends in the chat, said on Sunday afternoon. “He will go to the 10 o’clock candlelight without a question.”

Indeed, Tavecchio attended church the same day he became the first kicker in NFL history to hit two 50-plus-yard field goals in his regular-season debut. Yes, he still owns a flip phone. He also fancies crossword puzzles in coffee shops, obsesses over cappuccinos and volunteers at soup kitchens.

He’s cycled through four teams since 2012, including three preseasons with the Raiders. Tavecchio’s daunting task in his first regular-season game — replace Sebastian Janikowski, the longest-tenured Raider and the team’s all-time leading scorer. Janikowski was placed on injured reserve Friday with a back injury. On Wednesday, Tavecchio was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Tavecchio, a 5-foot-10, curly-haired Italy native, considered giving up after the Raiders cut him in 2016. The NFL dream tugged him back despite repeated failures, but his story is more than a soccer-player-turned kicker finally having success in the NFL.
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The things Tavecchio does, the way he talks and how out of place he looks in the locker room make him different than his NFL peers. Yet that’s what his teammates, current and former coaches and close friends love about him.

Tavecchio showed up to practice at Cal his first week of school in 2008. He was a walk-on and didn’t even attend preseason camp.

After an impressive first practice, then-Cal head coach Jeff Tedford offered Tavecchio the chance to handle kickoffs in the upcoming season opener. Actually, he offered “Giovanni” the chance, and the freshman who rode his bike to campus from Moraga accepted even though his coach didn’t know his name.

Tavecchio’s eyes wandered while he pressed his hands against the ball before placing it on the tee for his first kickoff. “He’s looking around like Rudy, looking around the stadium. It’s packed,” Tedford said. “Just kind of taking it all in type of thing.”

The only problem? A 25-second kick clock had just been implemented for college football. Tavecchio had no idea. Teammates and coaches had to tell him to hurry up.

Tavecchio wasn’t a stereotypical football player in high school. His coach at Campolindo High, Kevin Macy, said Tavecchio put a map of Italy on his play-calling wristband and showed it off before games. Once when Macy wanted an onside kick — a “pooch” kick — Tavecchio spoke in such a rapid Italian accent while asking multiple times if he should kick it left or right that he flustered his own teammates.

They all got a T-shirt out of it in the end.
Giorgio Tavecchio inspired this T-shirt in high school. (Courtesy of Kevin Macy)

Tavecchio didn’t fit into the mold of a football player at Cal either, nor does he now.

College roommates made fun of him for doing crossword puzzles in the campus coffee shop. He frequented Cafe Strada with D’Amato, a fellow Italy native, where they would engage in long personal talks over cups of cappuccino — always cappuccino, and nothing else — while yearning for vacations to their home country. Tavecchio despises frozen and boxed foods, Barnett said, since his tastes are simply in a higher class after years of eating his mom’s lasagna.

Tavecchio is dormant on social media, and his Facebook cover photo hasn’t been updated in over five years. His profile picture is a stack of cheese next to a loaf of bread, a picture clearly untouched for some time.
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“Purposely leads a simple life without distractions,” said Jamie Kohl, Tavecchio’s former coach at Kohl’s Kicking Camps, “and he literally has a passion to kick a football.”

That passion has been tested over the past half-decade. Tavecchio’s political economy major could have netted him multiple jobs, but he insisted on pursuing an NFL roster spot.

“He’s lost a bunch of money. He’s lost career opportunities,” Kohl said. “A lot of people have reached out to him with great jobs.”

After the Raiders cut him last year, Tavecchio confided in close friend Jordan Kay that it might be time to hang up his cleats once and for all.

Kay said that was the first time Tavecchio had expressed doubt to him. Instead, the Campolindo High product will kick for the Raiders in Sunday’s home opener against the New York Jets after his spectacular debut against Tennessee. On top of two 52-yarders, he hit field goals from 20 and 43 yards, as well as two extra points.

Until his second act, Tavecchio might be found at a local soup kitchen, volunteering his time as he often has done on Friday and Saturday mornings. He’s a little busier late in the week this year as opposed to this time in years past, but don’t be surprised if he finds time, just like he did for church late Sunday night after his name became one of the hottest around the NFL.

“When you picture that person that every parent wants their daughter to be associated with, or wants his son to be like, that’s Giorgio,” Barnett said. “He’s a true servant.”

Matt Schneidman joined the Bay Area News Group in September 2017 to cover the Oakland Raiders. He graduated from Syracuse University in Spring 2017 and has interned with The Buffalo News, the New York Post and USA TODAY.